Courtland's late touchdown knocks Grafton from Division 4 playoffs

November 20, 2010|By Marty O'Brien, mobrien@dailypress.com | 247-4963

YORK — — With Grafton High's defense as dominant as it's ever been for almost three full quarters of the Region I Division 4 semifinal, Courtland High coach J.C. Hall said he knew it would take a big play to beat the Clippers. Actually it took two, and speedy wide receiver Wahid Moore provided both.

With the Cougars trailing by 13 points, Moore revived their hopes by turning a routine slant into a 40-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter. Then, with little more 2 minutes remaining in the game, he made a spectacular 46-yard catch in triple coverage to set up the decisive touchdown.

Kirk Wilson followed Moore's catch with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 1:41 remaining. Alex Cimini kicked what proved to be the game-winning point-after as Courtland beat Grafton 14-13 on Saturday at Bailey Field.

The victory sends the Cougars (7-4) in the regional final at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when they'll host Eastern View (8-3). Grafton finished its first season under head coach Jared Van Acker with an 8-3 record.

"If you'd have told me (before the season) we'd be 8-3 and in the playoffs, I'd have told you how proud I'd be," Van Acker said. "I'm proud of these kids like they were my own kids.

"I'm a firm believer that one play doesn't determine a game. Courtland played hard and played for four quarters."

But Grafton was more effective for three of them. So dominant were the Clippers, that prior to Moore's 40-yard touchdown reception with 1:30 left in the third quarter — cutting Grafton's lead to 13-7 — the Clippers advantage in total yards was 219-53.

A defense that virtually froze the Cougars in the first half — limiting them to 38 yards on 24 plays — was the key. Defensive end Dylan Stallings led the gang-tackling Clippers with eight first-half tackles, four for loss.

"That No. 4 (Stallings) is a stud," Hall said.

Said Stallings, "We were exploding off the ball like we really wanted it."

Clippers' linebacker Taylor Collins added, "We played against that (Wing-T) offense a lot, so it wasn't a huge shock. The coaches had us prepared on short notice."

But, with star quarterback Joe Cibrin sidelined by a sore shoulder, the Clippers did not have the offensive explosiveness to take advantage of the defense's excellence. DeAngelo Harrison (19 carries, 118 yards) did a nice job of getting through the holes the line made on an early touchdown drive.

Marcus Spearman finished that drive with a 29-yard touchdown run on a counter, giving the Clippers a 7-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter. Harrison carried four times for 42 yards as the Clippers opened the second half with a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive consuming more than six minutes of clock.

Robbie Hiser passed 14 yards to Stallings for the touchdown on a halfback option to give the Clippers a 13-0 lead. But a poor snap on the point-after attempt denied the Clippers what would prove to be a crucial point.

Following Moore's first touchdown catch — on which he broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage — the Clippers drove to the Courtland 8. But Grafton's lead remained at 13-7 when the drive ended with a missed field goal.

Courtland took over at its own 20 and made it as far as its own 46 when it faced a third-and-11. That's when Hall called for a long pass, the one that quarterback Nick Zaluzney threw just over the outstretched hands of three Grafton defenders.

"They expected me to go deep but they didn't expect me to get behind them," said Moore, who ran a post pattern. "They hesitated, I got behind then and when I caught it I thought, 'The game is ours.' "

He was correct, but the Clippers, tears notwithstanding, held their heads high.

"It's definitely a shocker," Collins said of the finish. "But I think if you have to go out, it's best to go out in the postseason."